Method for making loose leaf book sheets



Nov. 1, 1938. F. s. SCHADE 2,135,056

METHOD FOR MAKING LOOSE LEAF BOOK SHEETS Original Filed Nov. 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Wlwv- ATTORNEYS 1938' F. s. SCHADE 2,135,056

METHOD FOR MAKING LOOSE LEAF BOOK SHEETS Origihal Filed Nov. '15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR I I 54 Ag? STANLEY SCHADE Ww+ 3mg, ATTORNEYS Nov. 1, 1938. F. S. SCHADE 2,135,056

METHOD FOR MAKING LOOSE LEAF BOOK SHEETS Original Filed Nov. 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR I fi m/v .STA/VLEXSCHAflZ BY" v ATTORNEYS I Nov. 1, 1938. F. s. scHADE METHOD FOR MAKING LOOSE LEAF BOOK SHEETS Original Filed Nov. 15, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 lNVENTO R PA/ i4lr 8734/1415 SCI/A05 Wf-WM ATTORNEYS enforce such leaves, even when formed of thin 1 Patented Nov. 1, 1 938 PATENT OFFICE.

' METHOD FOR LOOSE LEAF BOOK SHE Frank Stanley Schade, Holyoke, Mass., assignor to National Blank Book Company, Holyoke, Mass. a corporation of Massachusetts Original application November I5, 1934, Serial No.

1935, Serial No. 22,153

Divided and this application May 18,

4 Claims. (01'. 129- 1) My invention relates to a method of reenforcing for use with loose leaf binders and the like.

The principal object of the invention is to repaper, in a manner to provide an adequate resistance to tearing of the paper around the openings, through which the binding member or members pass, without materially or noticeably adding to the thickness of the sheet at the binding edge.

The reenforcements heretofore available have taken the form of stripsor wafers of paper, cloth, or metal stock, glued or riveted to the paper edges; Except in the case of leaves of sufficient thickness to permit the countersinking of the reenforcement in the material of the sheet, all of the prior reenforcements have added materially to the thickness of the binding edge ofthe sheet or leaf to which they are applied, both from the added thickness of the reenforcement itself, which has been substantial, and from the thickness of the V adhesive coating or other means used to secure the reenforcement in place, which has at least been appreciable. Since the only method heretofore known of securing a reenforcement which did not noticeably increase the thickness of the leaf at its binding edge is applicable only to thick leaves capable of having the reenforcement embedded in the thickness of the leaf itself,'this .highly desirable feature has been unavailable in the cheap paper leaves of a thickness such as that of ordinary writing or typewriting paper which most needs reenforcement because of its thinness. My invention for the first time makes it possible to adequately reenforce the binding edges of these thin, widely used leaves without any noticeable addition to their thickness, and further to do this as a factory operation at a cost which rendersi the reenforced sheets competitive in pricewith the present unreenforced sheets.

Broadly, and in brief, my method consists in applying to the binding edge of the sheet, or to the portions of that edge which are adjacent or surround the openings through which the bindr ing mechanism passes, a film of metal comparable in thinness and physical characteristics to the metal coating which might be deposited on the paper by electro-deposition if it were commercial- 1y possible to so treat these cheap leaves. A film of this character having a thickness of the order of l3/10,000'of an inch has been found to give adequate reenforcement at the binding edge, yet such a thickness is not discernible except by scientific instruments. Even when a large number of so reenforced leaves are stackedtogether to and form the capacity contents of a loose leaf binder there is no increased thickness at the binder edge of the stack which is discernible to the eye.

While it is possible to roll sheets of metal to the requisite thinness, films so produced have a tendency to curl, which is objectionable. I have found that an electrolytically deposited film stays fiat. I securethe metal film to the sheet by means of a thermo-plastic cement 'in a manner hereafter fully described, and in so doing do not add even measurably to the thickness of the reenforced portion of the sheet.

More specifically considered, my method includes certain preferred manipulative steps which are carried out by the device disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 753,111, filed November 15, 1934, of which the present application is a division.

- My method is easiest described with reference to the device of the above mentioned application,

and such parts as are of assistance in understanding the method as a Whole are included in .theaccompanying drawings in whichl is a front elevational view of a device for carrying out the method; 1 j

Fig. 2 is a sectional view substantially on line 22 of Fig.1;-

Fig. 3 is a sectional view substantially on line 3'3 of Fig. 1, showing the parts in initial position; 7

Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive are fragmentary views similar to Fig. 3, but showing the-parts in successive operating positions;

Fig. 8 is a view substantially on line 8-8 of Fig. 3;

-Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view showing a portion of the reenforced. edge of a sheet or leaf;

Figs. 10 and 11' are diagrammatic, exaggerated, sectional views of the reenforced portion of the leaf, illustrating the manner in which the metal filmis secured to the paper, but without intending to show the parts to scale.

As the first step of my method I apply to one side of a sheet or strip I, formed from a film of electrolytically deposited metal, preferably copper, a coating of a thermo-plastic cement, indicated at 2 inFig. 10. This coating is too thin to be shown in the'Figures 2 to 7 inclusive, even though the thickness of the copper film l and the paper sheet 3 in said figures is greatly exaggerated and the film and sheet just indicated without any attempt to show relative thicknesses. There are a number of thermo-plastic cements on the market suitable for my purpose and I intend to include within that term, as used in this specification and the claims, such thermo-plastic materials as bakelite. The coating 2 is permitted to harden or set and in such hardened condition tends to slightly stiffen the: metal film. In one satisfactory form the reenforcement as shown in Fig. 9 is in the form of a wafer-like portion of film 5 surrounding the hole 6 through which the binder mechanism passes. The wafer, as shown, is formed with a straight edge I coinciding with the edge of the paper sheet 3 and a rounded edge I 8 substantially concentric with the opening 6. The wafers are advantageously formed, at the time of their application to'the sheet, from a strip of metal film. The device shown in Fig. 1 is designed to simultaneously apply three wafers in desired spaced relation along the binding edge of the sheet. Each wafer is applied by an applying unit, the three units being designated as A, B, and C in Fig. 1, and the sectional views of unit A in Figs. 3 to 5 inclusive are applicable to all three units. The specific mechanism by which the operation of the individual units is timed and their simultaneous operation effected is fully described in the parent case and need not be described here.

Referring to Figs. 2 to '7 inclusive, a strip I of coated film is fed to each of the applying units from a suitable roll supply (not shown) between feed rolls Ii and I2 to the applying units. These feed rolls are intermittently driven, by any suitable means, to advance the strip the length of one wafer at each operation. The feed rolls push the strip into a guide member I which guides it to the point of application. The feed rolls I I and I2 are respectively provided with convex and concave surfaces so as to bend the weak strip slightly in transverse section as it feedsit to the guide I4, as the strip in this form better sustains the strain incident to pushing the strip into and through the guide I4 which delivers it in its original flat form.

Referring to Fig. 3, the parts are shown at the start of the applying operation. The strip is in guide Id in position to be fed forward. The leaf or paper sheet 3 is positioned with the edge which is to be reenforced against a shoulder I6 formed on the base of the unit. Upon the operation of the feed rolls the strip is advanced, as shown in Fig. 4, into overlapping relation with the marginal portion of the sheet 3,: the thermo-plastic coating carried by the stripbeing between the strip and sheet. In this position the overlapping portion of the strip underlies a heated presser bar I8, through which a punch I9 operates, and. the

adjacent portion of the strip underlies a cutting member 20 and a stripper orholding member 2|. The bar I8 applies a yielding pressure by means of springs or the like, not shown.

The heated presser bar is next brought down onto the overlapping portions of the strip and sheet as shown in Fig. 5, and remains in this position during the remainder of the applying operation. The result of this application of heat and pressure is best described by reference to the highly exaggerated sectional views in Figs. 10 and 11.

Referring to Fig. 10, the strip I with its hardened thermo-plastic coating 2 is shown in overlapping relation with the sheet 3 ready for the application of heat and pressure by the bar I8. The heat from the bar readily transmitted through the thin metal film I softens the thermoplastic coating 2 and in this condition it is forced 'into the interstices between the fibers of the paper sheet, as shown at the zone in Fig. 11, so that upon cooling and setting of the sheet the metal film is held to the sheet by the interlocking of the cement material in the paper and without any intervening layer of cement to increase the thickness of the assembly. This filling of the interstices of the paper with cement probably adds to the resistance of the paper to tearing at the reenforcement. It is again.emphasized that Figs. 10 and 11 are greatly exaggerated views and that the thicknesses actually being dealt with are exceedingly small. The thickness of the coating 2 is measurable on the strip I by means of scientific instruments, but after the strip has been applied to the paper as described the coating 2 is not measurably present at the reenforced area of. the sheet, even by the aid of such instruments. While the bar I8 is functioning to secure the metal film to the paper as above described, a holding member 2I and cutter 20, carried by a vertically reciprocating head 22, are moved downwardly. The member 2I is cushioned by a spring 23 and, contacting with strip I in advance of the cutter, clamps the strip while the cutter severs the strip, as shown in Fig. 6, spring 23 yielding as the cutter advances. As best shown in Fig. 8, the member 2| is round in cross-section, and cutter 20 which fills the space between member 2I and bar I8 is provided with an arcuate face 25 sliding on member 2| and a plane face 26 sliding on the adjacent face of bar I8. The edge of face 26 severs the strip flush with the edge of sheet 3 to form edge I of the wafer while the arcuate face forms acurved edge on the end of strip I which will become the edge 8 of the wafer to be applied by the next operation.

Fixed in the head 22 and moving with the cutter 20, the punch I9 passes through the opening 30 in bar I8 and punches hole 6 through the now severed wafer 5 and thepaper sheet. Openings 32 and 33 formed in the base 34 respectively receive the punch and cutter and provide channels of escape for the waste from the punching and cutting operations.

The parts are now returned to original position and, aswill be clear from Fig. '7, the member 2I remains in position until the punch and cutter have been withdrawn. After member 2I has been raised, the bar I8 is lifted, thus restoring the partsto the starting position of Fig. 3, and the sheet, with the reenforcement of its binding edge completed as shown in Fig. 9, is removed.

It will be noted that the cutting and punching operations take place during the time that the heat and pressure of bar I8 are securing the metal film to the paper so that the time consumed for the whole operation is minimized. It will also be noted that the metal film is securely clamped at both sides of the cutter when the latter operates, and that there is no slack between the clamping means (bar I8 and member 2|) and the cutter 20, since the latter completely fills the gap between bar I8 and member 2|.

Other sequences of the operative steps could be followed, but that above described is preferred as best controlling the critically thin metal film and providing the reliability and certainty necessary for a commercially practical factory operation.

I claim:

l. The method of reenforcing small areas of binding hole locations in paper sheets which consists in moving a narrow ribbon of metal foil fiatwise at right angles to the edge of the paper until the ribbon covers only a small. area of the paper at a binding hole location, pressing the overlapped portion of the ribbon hard and flatwise against the paper and also gripping a portion of the ribbon to hold it tightly a short distance back of the paper margin and while so pressed and gripped, perforating the hole in the ribbon and paper and also stamping out the piece of the ribbon immediately back of the edge of the paper to round ofif the end of the ribbon for a successive feeding step, and square off the paper overlapping portion with the edge of the paper, said stamped out piece being the area of the ribbon between the pressure area of the overlapped portion and the gripping contact of the ribbon a short distance back of the overlapped portion whereby the reenforcing pieces are successively made from the ribbon by simultaneously punching the binding hole, squaring ofi the piece with the edge of the paper, and rounding off the ribbon for the front end of the next piece.

2. The method of the preceding claim in which the ribbon is provided with a coating of thermoplastic cement to avoid adhesive action in the gripping step occurring back of the paper edge and insuring adhesive action in the step of pressing the overlapped part of the ribbon, said pressing step including the application of heat with the pressure on the overlapped portion.

3. The method of making and applying small pieces of reenforcement material to loose leaf sheets at their binding holes which consists in feeding the reenforcement material in the form of a narrow thermo-plastic cement coated ribbon, flatwise and with its forward end overlapping the small area of a binding hole location from the side edge of the sheet, simultaneously pressing and heating the overlapped portion of the ribbon over its whole area for sticking such portion and then by substantially simultaneous operations,

die cuttingand discarding two portions of the ribbon area, one discarded portion being the area of the reenforced hole within the binding hole location and the other discarded portion being an area starting from the edge of the paper and extending rearwardly of the ribbon to arc-shaped cut across the ribbon, whereby the ribbon by such successive feeding and cutting operations on it will repeatedly supply an arc-shaped front edge to avoid corners of the reenforcing material within the area of the reenforced margin in successive applications of applying the small reenforcement pieces to loose leaf sheets.

4. The method of making improved loose leaf paper book sheets having metal reenforced binding holes which consists in covering an area about the size of a finger print on the binding margin of a paper sheet with the forward end of a ribbon of sheet metal foil, much thinner than the paper sheet, having the sheet contacting side of the metal foil supplied with cold thermo-plastic cement when it comes in contact with the covered area, and with the materials in this relation and condition simultaneously applying a hot iron over the said covered area only, applying pressure over said area to press the foil and paper together, cutting off the metal foil along the marginal edge of the sheet by punching out and discarding a portion of said ribbon between that edge and a new end of the ribbon to avoid conduction of heat to the new end, and repeating the cycle of operations for each paper hole reenforcement.

FRANK STANLEY'SCHADE. 

